Uber completes $2.7B acquisition of Postmates

Uber has officially gobbled up its $2.7 billion Postmates order.

The tie-up, which had been on hold from its announcement in September until earlier this month as both companies complied with the government’s request for more details, was completed on Tuesday, the companies announced.

Folding in Postmates to its already strong delivery business — fueled largely by Uber Eats, which recently added grocery deliveries to its growing list of offerings — increases Uber’s stake in the US delivery market by 8 percentage points to 37 percent. Market leader Doordash has a 45-percent share of the US food delivery business, according to Edison Trends.

Postmates will continue to operate as a separate brand, Uber confirmed, but will share “a more efficient, combined merchant and delivery network” with Uber Eats.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement that food delivery and supporting local businesses is especially important “during crises like the one we face today.”

“We’re thrilled to bring these two teams together to continue to innovate, bringing ever-better products and services for merchants, delivery people, and consumers across the country,” Khosrowshahi said.

Uber’s delivery ambitions have taken on greater importance this year, as pandemic-related lockdowns have pummeled its ride-hail business while boosting demand for food delivery.

The rideshare giant began putting together an offer for Postmates, which was last valued at $2.4 billion, soon after its proposed $6 billion tie-up with Grubhub fell apart under regulatory scrutiny. Chicago-based Grubhub ended up getting bought by Dutch delivery firm Just Eat Takeaway in a $7.3 billion deal.

Shares of Uber were up 2.9 percent in trading late Tuesday morning, at $51.11.